Don't look now but 22 year old Cam Atkinson is now 6th in rookie scoring in the AHL with 19 points in 23 games. Even better are his 12 goals rank 3rd in overall rookie goal scoring and 11th overall in overall AHL goal scoring.
Some folks may want to call him up but I say leave him down, let him dominate the AHL so he hits the big club with maximum confidence next year.
With Prospal and Huseilus likely gone there will be no shortage of open wing vacancies in this lineup. We need this kid to fill one of them. But more importantly, we need him ready to fill one of them.
Got sent the following link from Hitch Rules. It's Garrioch but still interesting:
The self-imposed holiday roster freeze for Brian Burke kicked in Friday, but the Maple Leafs GM might be willing to make moves once it’s lifted. The Leafs could be looking for help in the middle, especially with Tim Connolly struggling with injuries. Columbus C Derick Brassard could be an option. League sources say Blue Jackets GM Scott Howson was spotted at the Marlies game last Saturday in Toronto. Apparently, he was in the corner and didn’t want to be noticed. Brassard has a cap hit of $3.2 million for the next two seasons, so Howson can’t afford to let coach Scott Arniel bury Brassard on the fourth line or in the press box much longer. The situation is going to come to a head and Brassard could certainly make sense for the Leafs ...
The very first thing I thought of when Arniel inserted Brassard into the top 6 was he is being showcased. This leads some credence to that.
I have no idea what went wrong with Brassard this year. I thought he came off a decent season last year and quite frankly I thought this could be his break out season.
Man, was I wrong.
Brassard has always been one of my favorite Jackets but man crush aside, Garrioch is right -- we cannot have a 3.2 million dollar player sitting in the press box.
There is no question in my mind he's on the block and in this case, I think Howson is smart to bide his time. I mean, the season was toast 15 games ago so making a panic now move to try to save it would be absolutely pointless.
Instead, the smart play is to dangle him to a team that is in panic mode now to see if we can get an overpayment. This could be teams that are on the bubble and need a shakeup. Could be teams that have already made a coaching change but still need a shakeup (Washington?).
Brassard has value out there although I'm glad Howson didn't pull the trigger on Kaberle and the 2nd. I was a Kaberle fan but his game has really hit the skids. The last thing we need right now is another card carrying member of club CBJ with a bad contract.
Howson being spotted in Toronto makes some sense as they are starting to slide and may want to shake things up themselves. Some have mentioned Kadri but I think the target has to be 22 year old dman Luke Schenn. We would have to add more -- perhaps Brassard + Goloubef? Brassard + 2nd?
Remember we should be able to recoup some of those draft picks at the deadline by selling off Prospal (cringes me to say that), Juice and Pahlsson among others.
Garrioch also comments about the long suffering fans in Columbus (what's left of em) and how there have been no changes (outside of hiring Patrick) to the worst team in the Western Conference.
Speaking as one of the "what's left of em" -- you're preaching to the choir my man.. Preachin to the choir.
This hasn't gotten nearly enough play in my mind but FSN Ohio has renewed their contract with the Blue Jackets.
No terms were released which is a bummer.
I had heard numerous times that this current deal was negotiated by Doug MacLean. I also heard that he pretty much gave the broadcast rights away.
Hopefully the CBJ brass were able to negotiate a better deal this time around -- although they certainly don't have a lot of leverage given their lack of on-ice success.
One thing that seems to be clear is FSN Ohio has increased their overall coverage of CBJ which has included broadcasting all 79 of their telecasts in HD. Got to think that was all part of this package that was just announced. At the very least, an incentive to get this package completed.
Mason gets the start tonight. No question it's time to give Sanford a rest but that rest my be short lived. Mason draws the second highest scoring team in the league in Vancouver. They are avergaing 3.31 goals per game.
The Jackets? Well they are the 4th lowest scoring team in the NHL with just 2.38 goals per game.
Doubt this team can outscore the 'nucks. Problem is I doubt they can out defend em either.
But, that is why they play the game.
So Nikita Filatov is leaving on a jet plane back to the KHL. No real shock there but you can't really blame Ottawa for taking a flyer on him with a 3rd rd pick.
To say we won this trade with Ottawa is short sighted. We essentially got a 3rd round pick (TJ Tynan) for a 6th overall pick. No matter which way you want to spin it - that is a complete fail.
To lesson the blow, hopefully we can get some kind of NHL production from Tynan down the road. He's having a great year at Notre Damn (20gp 27pts) and will play for the US in the WJC which is a postive.
Speaking of the World Junior Championships, that tournament is right around the corner. It is scheduled to start December 26th and end January 6th in Calgary/Edmonton Alberta. Jackets fans will want to pay close attention given the likelihood we'll be picking in the top 5 as this is THE tournament for the top prospects to make a statement.
Teams haven't been annoucned (that I'm aware of) but these names are likley. Nail Yakupov and Mikhail Grigorenko for Russia. Ryan Murray (if he's healthy enough to play) and Mathew Dumba for Canada. Filip Forseberg for Sweden.
Believe it or not, the Jackets still have yet to be shut out this season and tonight will be game #30. They were shut out in game #24 last year on December 3rd at Buffalo as the Sabers smoked em 5-0.
I would say I hope I didn't jinx em but does it really matter?
This mock draft has us taking Mikhail Grigorenko (50pts in 32gp) 1st overall. This one still has us taking Nail Yakupov.
Terry Murray has been fired by the Kings. That makes 5 coaches canned and we aren't even at the halfway point. The Jackets will get a sniff of that new coach smell on Thursday.
Good read here about Ohio approving the 10 million dollar loan for Nationwide Arena. We may stink but it's lookin very good that we'll get to keep our stinker for a long time!
Your Columbus Blue Jackets presented by... Right Guard Sport?
I'll leave you with this hilarous pic sent in by BHG. The focus here shouldn't be the guy in the black with his arms out -- no, it should be on the lady behind the guy with his arms out. That is Derek Dorsett's grandma "displaying" her displeasure after that horse shit goalie interference penalty on her grandson.
Like grandmother, like grandson?
Let's see what the Jackets have in store for us tonight!
-LTL
